Girl Guide Cookie Launch

Good numbers turned out at the Lutheran Church hall Monday night for the Williamsburg Girl Guide’s official launch of their Cookie Campaign and an open house. “The girls will be taking their cookies home tonight,” said Sparks leader Melissa Ringler explaining that the combination Cookie Launch/ Open House was an effort for the Guide’s to get more exposure during a current Try Now. Join Later recruitment program. “I have seen four families here who aren’t part of our group, so that is very encouraging,” said Ringler. The Try Now. Join Later campaign encourages girls as young as five (Sparks) to give Guiding a try for the months of April, May and June without paying a membership fee. The Williamsburg groups meet every Monday night at the Lutheran Church in Williamsburg, where they work on crafts, play games and get involved in various activities. “The girls do a lot of their own planning for the things they want to do,” says Ringler. “We are a small group, but we have a great time.” Anyone interested in the Try Now. Join Later Girl Guides recruitment campaign can contact Ringler by e-mail at melissaringler@sympatico.ca. The local Guides groups will be out and about selling their cookies over the next couple of weeks. Pictured above, front l-r, are Brownie Maeryn Gilmour and Guide Hailey Guerin. Back, left is Spark Jesse Vezina, with Pathfinder Sierra Swindells.

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Princess Snow White taught an enthusiastic group how to be ‘perfect princesses,’ Barney sang songs with his young fans and Spiderman delighted would-be super heroes.

On Saturday, June 1, the Morrisburg & District Figure Skating Club held a Fun Fair at the Morrisburg Arena.

“This is our second year for the Fun Fair,” said Club president, Julie Van Hoof. “The event was organized by Tracey Yalden. It is our hope to raise $2,000 today for the Figure Skating Club. We have princesses, the Vanderlaand Barnyard Zoo, Tribek Inflatables and a Mad Scientist show. We also have the ‘Love to Groove’ Dancers coming from Ottawa.”

There were plenty of activities for youngsters of all ages to enjoy at the Fair and plenty of delicious food. Morrisburg’s Giant Tiger donated hot dogs to the event; pink cotton candy and popcorn were also very popular. Riley’s Valu-Mart donated gift cards to the Fun Fair.

The baby goats, hamsters and bunnies in the Barnyard Zoo also drew lots of happy attention.

The huge success and popularity of the South Dundas Dog Park in Morrisburg has not come without a few glitches, says Park Pals committee co-chairs Tracey Veinotte and Janeen Wagemans.

Even during the coldest days of the past winter, Wagemans estimates a minimum of 20 dogs and their owners visited the park each day and on summer evenings last year it was common to see upwards of 20 dogs, at one time, enjoying the park.

“It is good that we have the traffic,” says Veinotte. “But it’s chewing the land up, so our agenda right now is ‘how do we keep it nice?”.

Earlier this spring volunteers roped off the heavy traffic entry area in the park for large dogs, planted grass seed and added fertilizer to assist the grassed area to recover.

Although the original park design called for more bricking in the entry area, there was not enough money available.

“Wendy (Montreal landscape architect Wendy Graham who designed the park) also pointed out that in the first year or two we would see what needed to be done, so that is what we are now seeing,” said Wagemans.

The current plan to alleviate the ‘wear’ problem is to dig down and add crushed stone in a semi-circular pattern out from the gate entry and around the landscaping rocks where the dogs and their owners tend to gather. An additional set of three rocks will be added farther away from the entry in a effort to move some of the congestion from the affected area.

The Park Pals committee has also identified the need for drainage, a watering system and lighting.

To put these needs in place they have launched a Mother’s Day Draw which they expect will be their final ‘major’ fund raiser.

“Our donation box had been broken into twice so we are hoping the light will deter that,” says Veinotte, with Wagemans pointing out, “The money is removed from the box every day, and although we are generally only talking a couple of dollars here and there, it is a nice contribution.”

In addition, park users who work have expressed the need for lighting in the fall and early winter, when darkness falls early before they are able to get home from work and get their pooches to the park.

Veinotte and Wagemans and several of the original Park Pals committee members (Willie Harper, Barb O’Neill and Sandra Van Allen) are delighted with the use the park is getting from local dog owners and especially people from Iroquois, Williamsburg, Winchester, Ingleside and Long Sault on a regular basis. In addition, there is the travelling public that searches out the park.

“I didn’t really believe a dog park would draw people in, even though all the literature said it would,” said Wagemans. “I thought, oh yeah right, but there are actually quite a lot of people coming in.”

The Park Pals committee is once again looking for the support of the community, especially dog lovers and dog owners, for their upcoming Mother’s Day raffle.

Tickets are $5 each and there are six prizes up for grabs. The top three prizes include a new IPAD 3, a $200 Canadian Tire Gift Certificate and a $100 Riley’s Valu-mart Gift Card. The draw will be made Sunday, May 13 at the South Dundas Dog Park and the Park Pals will have the tickets for sale this coming weekend at Valu-Mart and on the Mother’s Day weekend at Canadian Tire.

Any park users who could help with ticket sales over the next couple of weeks, or ticket sales or projects (maintenance) in the future are invited to contact either Veinotte or Wagemans.

The Park Pals are estimating that they need approximately $7,000 to complete their work plan which includes about $1,900 for irrigation, $1,800 for gravel and $3,300 for electrical. They are hoping to raise $2,000 towards the final project from the draw.

“If we can get it set up correctly, our goal is to have it a maintenance free park,” said Wagemans.

Once maintenance free, the Park Pals committee will continue to hold their annual Duck Draw to raise money for minor expenses, such as the cost of the waste collection bags and water.

“If we don’t do all the crazy things we do to keep the dog park the way it is, then I’m afraid it is not going be as nice in the future,” says Veinotte. “We absolutely appreciate that the area is very special to a lot of people and we want to keep it looking the way people are proud of it.”

The Reverend James Tripp, who received his call to serve at the Morrisburg Pentecostal Tabernacle in March of this year, is already starting to feel at home with his new congregation and in his new community.

“It’s wonderful that this is not just a church in the community, but really a church that is very much a part of this community,” Rev. Tripp said. “We could feel that this was a church deeply involved with its community, with a strong tradition of service, and that really attracted me.”

Pastor Tripp, and his wife, Sarah, an elementary teacher, both in their 30’s, have moved to South Dundas and are currently living in Iroquois. They are expecting their first child in October so they are particularly pleased to be safely settled into their new home.

Tripp preached his first sermons as pastor at the Morrisburg Pentecostal Tabernacle in May. He assumed the full time position following the retirement of long-serving pastor, Duncan Perry, who retired late last year. The Reverend Lorna Casselman has been the interim pastor while the Morrisburg Pastoral Search Committee looked for a full time candidate.

“I believe the Pastoral Committee got my resumé from our District Office,” Rev. Tripp explained. “They seemed to feel I might be a good fit with this congregation. We did an initial telephone interview, followed by a face-to-face. Then I was presented to the congregation to ‘preach for the call’. The entire membership of the church makes the final decision, on the recommendation of the Committee.”

Pastor Tripp brings a wealth of experience to his new charge.

An only child, he grew up in Mount Bridges, Ontario, attending high school in Strathroy. “I knew that I would be a pastor at a very young age,” he said. “I truly felt it was my calling, my purpose. I was about seven or eight. My parents were definitely alright with this decision as church was a strong part of our family experience.”

He completed his theological education at Eastern Pentecostal Bible College, now known as Master’s College and Seminary in Peterborough. He served five years at Bethel Church in Bobcaygeon, Ontario, in the Kawartha cottage country. Before that, he was an assistant pastor at a church in New Hamburg, in the Kitchener-Waterloo area. He did 10 years of student ministry at different churches before he went to Bobcaygeon.

Pastor Tripp has also been involved in missions and cross cultural work.

He spoke at a conference in Trinidad and worked in Poland, Cuba and the Czech Republic. “These were short term experiences. We were partnered with local churches, “church planting” or starting up churches in communities without them.”

He hopes that somewhere down the road, the possibility of going overseas again will continue to be an option. “Perhaps one day I will be able to take teams from Morrisburg,” he said.

He praises the outstanding staff he has at the Tabernacle. He also has a new assistant pastor, Sharon Bretz, who just started work a week ago.

“I think that this church is very welcoming to families. We encourage people to come to us ‘just as they are.’ I think, too, that it is our mission to serve this community, and I am definitely looking forward to all the challenges ahead,” said pastor James Tripp.

“Our church doors are open, and we would love to meet people. Please feel free to drop in.”